Saturday, June 6, 2015

Notes on Corporate Structure in Knowledge Use Systems

Knowledge use systems would need to provide further definitions for corporate structure. How so? The institutions of the present were created during historical periods when knowledge access was relatively scarce. Therefore, many institutions were geared towards exclusivity, in terms of both knowledge use and those who have been allowed to participate - at least over the course of a lifetime. Not just anyone had the capacity to organize resources productively, before the digital gains of recent decades. Even though production capacity has changed dramatically, society has yet to organize so these potential gains can be tapped in broader settings.

In order to further evolve, corporate structures need to organize for endogenous and inclusive group formation. For instance, education in these systems wouldn't exist separately. Instead, it would represent means for citizens to contribute to group outcomes in multiple capacities. In knowledge use systems, one overarching corporate structure would take the place of many, which one might otherwise expect to find in towns and small cities. These decentralized groups would combine what is normally thought of as for profit and not for profit activity, within the same setting.

The legal structures involved would need at least three distinct designations. First, time use management would exist as a series of overlapping categories, which builds out from groups of core settings. Second, local asset holdings would not only correspond to core time management structures, but also hold more traditional elements for real estate options as well. Once these are in place, a framework for local production would add to the economic framework. The first two areas provide a cohesive whole for non tradable activity, while the third creates a platform for tradable goods production.

Both information technology and traditional manufacture have evolved to such a degree, that production and consumption choices can be internalized within a multi-purpose corporate group structure. In other words, local citizens would once again have the capacity to be both providers and recipients, for core aspects of what can become a complex economic system. Local decisions for ongoing projects in this regard would be honored, and the process for doing so would be built into voting mechanisms and coordinated educational patterns. In terms of time based services formation, direct democracy is indeed possible.

These linked structures would provide an array of investment categories, so that anyone who participates would be able to gain access to services and resources in later years. Much as "stair step" learning processes between individuals are compensated, stair step financial structures would allow individuals to incrementally buy, sell and also rent existing local real estate and building components - be they of a flexible or more permanent nature. The long lived cycles within these corporate structures would make it possible to generate unique patterns in knowledge use and applications, over time.

Perhaps what would be most unique about these corporate structures, is that the individuals who take part, become the primary wealth which is generated by the system. Even though asset formation is built into the system, it is a secondary gain, compared to the activity which maintains human capital and ongoing endeavor. By fulfilling producer and consumer roles at the same time, individuals become a positive aspect of institutional responsibility, instead of a cost or burden. This is why knowledge use systems can not only preserve valuable services in lieu of government backed fiscal activity, but also provide full employment, as well.